Eight Years Later
by MadeInNowhere
Summary: Set eight years after the end of G-Revolution. Tyson and his pals have a new threat ahead of them as an old adversary returns. Read and review, please no flames!
1. Where Are They Now?

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the charters in this story. All right to Beyblade go to Takao Aoki and Shogakukan. The story however is mine.**

A youngster by the name of Kenny is sat at a bar stool drinking milk. He has dark brown hair which covers his eyes, and he wears a pair of glasses on his head. He also wears a white t-shirt with a green tie, brown shorts, and dark brown shoes with white socks. He flips open his laptop, and a familiar female voice talks to him.

"What'd I miss Chief? Did you get to go home early?" asked Dizzi.

"Pretty much. Working there can be tough, even on my brain," Kenny joked.

"Why not call Tyson? You haven't talked to him in weeks, and he's always good for a laugh," Dizzi asked.

Kenny laughed and nodded in agreement. He then picked his phone out his pocket and dialed Tyson's number.

**Over in Japan**

There is a young man practicing various strikes on a rotating training dummy. He sports dark blue hair and brown eyes, and is wearing a red jacket over a black t-shirt, along with grey jeans, blue and red shoes and black gloves.

After he is finished training, he hears his phone go off. He flips it open and puts it to his ear.

"Hello Tyson. It's been a while," said a familiar voice.

"Kenny. Man, how long has it been?" Tyson replied.

"Too long. How's the dojo?" Kenny asked. Tyson took note that his friend's voice had broken, sounding a bit deeper than usual.

"It's okay as it goes. I thought it would be hard considering me and Hilary are all that's left to take care of it, but it's been fine so far," Tyson said.

"Yeah. I remember hearing about your grandpa. I'm sorry Tyson," Kenny said, causing Tyson to get a little teary-eyed.

"It's okay Kenny. Things have gotten better. How are things over at the big, fancy research center?" Tyson asked, causing Kenny to smirk.

"Things are great! I've never seen so much technology around!" Kenny replied excitedly.

"Watch out chief, we don't want Dizzi to get jealous," Tyson said with a smirk, which made Kenny giggle a bit.

"It was good talking to you Tyson. Take care," Kenny said.

"You too bro," Tyson replied.

After his conversation with Kenny, Tyson sat down on the floor and thought to himself. It had been a while since he talked to his other friends. Daichi, Ray, Max... and Kai. Especially Kai. Tyson remember the last battle he had with him after Tyson had beaten Brooklyn. Even though the battle with Kai was for fun, they both still took it seriously. It ended with Tyson winning, but they both enjoyed themselves. Tyson picked his phone back up and dialed Ray's number. He thought now would be a good time to talk to him.

**Over in China**

A black-haired young man hears his phone go off. He walks over to answer it, and smiles upon seeing who is calling. He is wearing a white short-sleeved shirt, along with blue jeans and black shoes. He also has golden coloured eyes, that almost look like a cat's eyes.

"Tyson! It's been a while buddy!" said Ray. He and Tyson had been friends a long time.

"Yeah, it has. How's the chef life?" Tyson asked.

"It's pretty good. It's actually pretty humbling to be such a good cook and keep things on a low level by helping the people here," Ray replied. Tyson liked that Ray's kindness hadn't dwindled, even after all these years.

"We've all got things now. I've got my grandpa's dojo, you've got people to feed, Max is working back in America with his dad, and Kai is... well, truth be told, I have no clue," Tyson said, making Ray laugh a bit.

"Yeah. He was always the mysterious type. How's Hilary?" Ray asked.

"She's pretty good. We've been going out for about a year and a half now. I've been thinking about asking her to move in with me," Tyson asked. Ray congratulated his friend, and Tyson then asked "How's Mariah?"

"She's good. I've actually been thinking about asking her to marry me," Ray said.

"That's great news pal! What about the rest of the White Tigers?" Tyson asked.

"They're all good. They're teaching the kids around here to beyblade. I think that with some luck, we can find someone who can dethrone even you, Tyson," Ray said jokingly. It made Tyson laugh.

"Good one buddy. I'm gonna go now. Got a lot of training to do," Tyson said, then after he and Ray said their goodbyes, they both hung up. This made Ray think to himself that he should call Max to see how he was doing.

**Over in America**

A blonde haired, blue-eyed kid by the name of Max picks up his phone, and flips it open. He's wearing a green and yellow baseball t-shirt, alongside some orange jeans and green shoes.

"Hey, Max here," he said.

"Hey buddy. Been a while. How are things?" Ray asked.

"Oh, they're good. Still working with my dad on some new beyblade parts. The sport is so popular over here right now, we can barely go a second without someone wanting a new part!" Max exclaimed, making Ray laugh.

"It's good that they're learning the tricks of the trade though," Ray said.

"Yeah, it is. Look, I've been meaning to ask you something," Max said. This piqued Ray's interest, as he simply said "Oh?"

"You and me never really got to battle properly. I mean, sure, there was training, that four way between you, me, Rick and Lee, and that one that was more of a fan thing that had our other teammates before we reformed as the Bladebreakers, but you and me never got to battle properly," Max said. Ray nodded at that. His friend was right. They never got to have a battle between the two of them.

"I'm in. Just say when," Ray said.

"How about over in your home turf? I can pay for pretty much everything, and me and my parents are actually coming to China to help out, so maybe we can meet in the middle," Max said.

"Sounds good to me. Oh, one last thing before I go," Ray said.

"What is it?" Max asked.

"You haven't heard from Kai have you? I've tried calling him, but got nothing," Ray said, a bit regretfully.

"No. I've tried calling him too. He's always been aloof, but this is odd even for him," Max said.

"I think it's worth looking into. Anyway, I'm gonna go, and I look forward to fighting you," Ray said.

"Yeah, you too. See you later dude," Max said, and he then hung up. Max then sat down and fished a photo out of his left jean pocket. It was a picture of him hugging his girlfriend, Mariam from behind. She had blue hair and green eyes. In it, Mariam wore her Saint Shields garb, and Max wore more or less what he was wearing today, only his jeans were blue.

**With Kai, in Russia**

A blue-haired, purple-eyed man by the name of Kai is practicing Beyblading. He has launched his signature Dranzer blade into a bey dish in a dark room. He is wearing his signature blue face-paint and white scarf. He's also wearing a black t-shirt, a purple jacket over it, grey jeans, black gloves, and black and red shoes. The dish he is practicing in is completely customized to suit his needs; at his feet is a pad where, if he steps on a button, a different hazard or element will be added, and each time Kai found a way to beat them.

He did this three times a day, switching between five different hazards per session, and training for an hour and a half per session too. Whenever Kai wasn't blading, he was keeping his physical strength up in a makeshift gym, using weights, speed-bags, heavy-bags, treadmills, the works. It was all in the safety of his own home too. He bought a nice cushy house, with the walls and floors made mostly of white marble. It was distant from the rest of the world.

As his Dranzer blade came back up to him, Kai started thinking about the fun times he had with his friends and former teammates. He thought about the battles he had with Ray, Max, and his greatest rival, Tyson. He thought about his last battle with Tyson before everyone went their separate ways.

**Eight years previously...**

Kai and Tyson had launched their blades against one another. They promised each other a battle if Tyson one the BEGA tournament, and win he did. Hundreds of fans surrounded Tyson and Kai, and among them were their BBA Revolutions teammates, Ray, Daichi, and Max, and the teams of White Tiger X, the PPB All Starz, the Blitzkrieg Boys, F-Dynasty, The Majestics, the Dark Bladers, Barthez Battalion, and the BEGA League themselves. Also among them was Tyson's grandfather, Ryu, the president of the BBA, Mr. Dickenson, and the announcer of any and all beybattles, DJ Jazzman. They all got excited as they were about to see Tyson and Kai go head to head once more.

* * *

**Sorry for making this such a short chapter, but this is more of an introduction thing than anything else, and the battle will be on the next chapter. And the reason the story's called "Eight Years Later" is because it's been eight years since the end of Beyblade: G-Revolution. Also, in case you were wondering, Daichi will be in it, and they're still using their Heavy Metal System blades from G-Revolution. I will continue this, and I will be working on my sequel to "Fast Times At Mobius High". It's under the working title of "The Next Level" until I or you can think of something better. Please PM me your suggestions. Anyway, I'm out. Piece.**


	2. A Promise Is A Promise

DJ Jazzman, with microphone in hand, announced the names of the two top beybladers in the world as they got ready to do battle once more.

"Bladers ready? 3, 2, 1... LET IT RIP!"

And as he spoke, Tyson and Kai launched their blades onto the grass beneath them.

"Go for it Dragoon!" Tyson yelled.

"Go get him Dranzer!" Kai shouted. Their blades went at each other on the grass, staying in the circle that their friends, fans and teammates had made. Their blades collided with brutal force, neither one giving an inch. But it wasn't a rough battle to either of them. It was a battle as friends, a battle as brothers. The fact that they took it this seriously at all only strengthened their jointed passion for Beyblading.

Soon enough, Kai gained the upper hand, knocking Dragoon back a bit. Tyson stumbled back with a growl, and soon regained his composure, getting himself and Dragoon back into the game. He slammed Dranzer hard, which caused Kai to throw his arms up, making him skid backwards on his feet. A small smile grew on Kai's face. He loved it when an opponent actually fought with him, throwing caution to the wind and not worrying about the consequences. That was always Tyson's style, and Kai knew it. And he wouldn't miss it for the world.

"Go get him Tyson!" shouted Kenny.

"You got this one Kai!" yelled Ray. Both of them were right. It was such an even match. It didn't matter that it was a friendly battle; they still matched each other hit for hit, stride for stride. Soon enough, Kai's frustrations got the better of him. He could battle with Tyson forever if he wanted to, but he wanted to end it as well. He raised his hand, and started calling on his bit-beast, Dranzer.

"Dranzer, hit Tyson hard! Spiral Fireball attack!"

Kai's bit-beast flew out of the Beyblade, and soared into the air, engulfing itself in flames. Tyson saw this coming, and had prepared his own special move.

"Dragoon, let's show Kai what we're made of! Evolution Storm!"

Tyson's beyblade spun at an even faster velocity, causing a violent storm to spin around it. Dragoon soon appeared in the center of it, and started flying upwards to meet Kai's attack head on. Both Tyson and Kai screamed aloud as their bit-beasts collided, becoming a beautiful, destructive mixture of wind and flame. Soon, their beyblades landed back down to earth. Kai's hit the ground hard, spinning around a bit before tipping over on it's side. When Dragoon came back down, it landed almost perfectly. It wobbled a bit before it fell.

"I don't believe it! Ladies and gentlemen, Tyson has won the match!" shouted Jazzman. Max, Kenny, and Ray all ran over to Tyson, hugging him and congratulating him. He saw Kai pick Dranzer up. then something happened that none of them thought they'd ever see. Kai started laughing. It was too infectious, and Tyson joined in not long afterwards.

"It was a good battle Tyson. I'm glad to have fought you once more," said Kai before walking off.

"Where will you go now Kai?" Tyson asked his friend.

"Anywhere. Anywhere that will teach me how to beat you. We will always be friends Tyson. But I'm not coming back until I'm 100% sure I can defeat you," Kai said, a bit tearfully. He didn't want to leave Tyson. He didn't want to leave the only person who shared as deep a passion for blading as he did. But he wanted so badly to defeat Tyson too. He was torn between two things. He walked away with his head down so no one would see his tears. Kai soon stopped to look over his shoulder.

"See you soon, Tyson," Kai said.

"Yeah, you too," Tyson replied. Kai walked on, raising his right arm with a thumbs-up gesture at the end of it. Tyson returned it and smiled, but it didn't last long. Tyson felt like he wasn't just losing a friend. He felt like he was losing a brother. But he had to remind himself that Kai wasn't dead, he was just leaving. He was going to set out to learn what he could, despite knowing everything there is to know about beyblading.

"So, what does everyone do now?" asked Max.

"Simple. We all go home and stay there until something else happens," Tyson said.

"What will you do though Tyson?" Ray asked.

"My homeboy can stay here and help with his grandpa's dojo! This old dog needs some help getting around you know," Tyson's grandfather said. Tyson giggled at that.

"I might head back to America. I'm pretty sure me and my parents can set something up there," Max said, before turning to Ray. "What about you?"

"Well, I might head back to China. There are a lot of hungry mouths to feed, so I think I could help out," Ray said.

"I myself might stick around here. There's this research facility that I want to work at so badly," Kenny said. After it all, Tyson, Ray, Kenny and Max all bumped fists before heading their separate ways; Kenny with his ever-trusty laptop Dizzi in hand, Max with the All Starz, Ray with White Tiger X and Tyson with his grandfather. All the other teams and people there headed off too.

**Back to the present**

We see Tyson looking out of his window into the night sky, holding a familiar photo of him, Kai, Max, Ray and Kenny not long after they won their first Beyblade trophy as the Bladebreakers. He smiled as he took in every detail. He was snapped out of his daydreaming when he heard a knock on his bedroom door. He's wearing grey lounge pants and a black t-shirt.

"Tyson, you okay?" asked Hilary as she walked in. She wore pink pajamas, along with blue fluffy bunny slippers.

"I'm fine. I just... I miss them. I miss my grandpa too," Tyson said. He thought about when he held his grandpa's hand on his deathbed. Ryu had been diagnosed with leukemia, and when he found out, he told Tyson, Hilary, pretty much everyone. He was given the option to go into remission, but opted not to.

"I'll never forget his last words to me. He told me to keep fighting, to keep strong. He told me not to worry about him not going into remission, because he decided it was time to pass," Tyson said. His eyes started leaking tears as Hilary walked over and hugged her boyfriend from behind.

"Tyson, Ryu would have wanted you to follow his words. And he was right in picking them. Despite losing him and getting the huge responsibility of taking care of the dojo, you followed his words. That's the Tyson I like the most, the one who goes on when it gets tough," Hilary said, before being met by a kiss from Tyson.

"Thanks Hilary. Sorry for being so mopey. I know it's been four years, but it feels like it was only yesterday you know?" Tyson replied.

"Yeah, I know. Let's go to bed. Big day tomorrow," Hilary said. Tyson smiled and curled up under the covers with Hilary as they both soon drifted off to sleep.

**The next day**

Tyson wakes up to the sound of his alarm clock. He smiles as he turns and sees Hilary snoring silently next to him. She had taught Tyson how to wake up earlier, mostly by withholding things from him like food and his Beyblade gear. He got up, changed into his normal clothes, and left Hilary a little kiss on the cheek before heading downstairs. He walked to a wall which had a rack of shinai on it, and picked one up. He then started taking some swings on a practice dummy.

It was fair to say that over the past eight years, Tyson had taken training a lot more seriously, and his body was beginning to show signs of that. He put on quite a bit of muscle. Not bodybuilder level, but enough to get ladies to take a second glance at him. Hilary was the one who pushed him so hard after everyone went their separate ways, and Tyson's grandfather was also on hand to help. Through training, Tyson eventually fell for Hilary, and they started dating, and also started doing other things that most couples do. They both liked those other things.

"Hey there Tyson," said a soft voice. It was Hilary. She still wore her pajamas, but without the slippers.

"Hey Hilary," Tyson replied, putting the shinai down.

"I'm so glad my parents let me stay over last night," Hilary said with a smile as she walked up to Tyson.

"Hey, I need to ask you someth-"

Tyson was cut off by his phone. He got it out of his pocket and saw that he had a text from an anonymous number that read _**"Fukuoka airport. 2 hours. Come alone."**_

Tyson and his girlfriend looked at each other for a second, but decided to do as the message said.

"So, what now?" Hilary asked.

"We play ball. For now," Tyson said.

"Well, I'm going with you," said Hilary

"I couldn't stop you if I wanted to," Tyson replied, making Hilary laugh. She then went upstairs and started changing into her normal clothes, which consisted of a black t-shirt, an orange button t-shirt over that which was open, blue shorts, and brown boots. She came back downstairs, and the two headed off to the airport.

**Fukuoka airport**

Tyson sat down with Hilary as they waited to see what was happening. They were still confused as to what they were doing. The airport was filled with hustle and bustle, and everyone was working hard and kept busy.

"I wonder why the guy told us to meet him in such a public area?" Hilary said aloud.

"I guess this was a lost cause. Come on, let's go home," Tyson said. As soon as they got up, they saw a familiar face walking over to them.

"Tyson, Hilary, good to see you," said Kenny. Tyson walked over and hugged his friend. Since Kenny was smaller, he felt like he was being crushed.

"Kenny, what are you doing here?" Tyson asked as he let go of the hug.

"Some guy left a message on my laptop and told me to come here. What about you two?" Kenny asked.

"Same thing. Tyson got a message on his phone and gave him the same instructions," Hilary said.

"Well, I don't have to be a master detective to know that it was probably the same guy," Kenny said. They then turned to hear another familiar voice.

"Hey, did you guys get called here too?" he said. Tyson, Kenny and Hilary all turned to see Max walk up to them. He wore his clothes they'd last seen him in, and carried a black bag behind him with wheels attached to it.

"Max!" Tyson exclaimed.

"To answer your question, yes. But we thought you were in America!" Hilary said.

"I was, but I got an envelope containing a passport and some money to get here, along with instructions to come on my own. The last thing I expected was to see you guys here," Max replied.

"Am I the only one that gets the feeling that we'll come across the others before long?" Kenny said nervously.

"Come across who?" asked yet another voice that they all heard before. They turned around to see Ray, also wearing the clothes they'd last seen him in. He carried a large sports bag over his left shoulder. Before anyone could speak, Ray said "Let me guess, someone who didn't want us to know who they were called us all here separately, gave us passports and money and told us all to come alone?"

"That's about the skinny of it," Max answered.

"Well, that's almost all of us. We're only missing Daichi and Kai now," Hilary said aloud. She then turned to see Tyson clenching his fists and grunting loudly. He sounded exasperated.

"What's wrong Tyson?" Ray asked.

"Well, doesn't this seem fishy to you? We were all asked by an anonymous source to come here, and it can't be a coincidence that we all met each other again. I wish whoever set this up would show his damn face already!"

"Don't worry boys! I'm right here!"

They all turned around and saw Mr. Dickenson walk toward them. He wore a grey suit, along with black shoes, and also sported a grey trilby and a brown wooden cane.

"What are you doing here Mr. D?" asked Max.

"I called you all here because I need your help. Boris has returned, and he is setting up a new Beyblade tournament. In case you're wondering about the others, Kai is already waiting for us, and we have to go and get Daichi ourselves," Dickenson replied.

"Wait, so that was you? Couldn't you do it any other way?" Kenny asked.

"Well, I could have, but that wouldn't have been much fun!" Dickenson answered, before continuing "nonetheless, we should all get going. There's a helicopter waiting for us outside," Dickenson said.

"Why do we need a helicopter?" Max asked.

"Because we need to head to the jungle to pick up Daichi. Then after that, we need to go to Germany," Dickenson replied. Tyson chuckled a bit as Dickenson brought up Germany. It made him think of an old opponent and friend; Robert Jurgens. He couldn't wait to meet him again.

They got on the helicopter and were happy to see Kai again. Like Ray and Max, he also wore his clothes that they saw him in last before everyone parted. Kai flashed a brief smile at everyone before looking out the window again. It was good to have him back.

* * *

**Thanks for sticking with this story so far! I apologize if I screw up the clothes. Just try to imagine them in their G-Revolution clothes. If you're wondering why only Ray and Max got tickets to get to Japan, it's because Tyson, Hilary and Kenny already live there, and as for the shinai, just try to imagine kendo sticks, because that's all they are really. Also, sorry to ask again, I'd really appreciate it if anyone can think of a good title for my Sonic sequel. It's under the working title of "The Next Level" as of writing, until I can think of something better. Anyway, see you soon!**


	3. Nature Boy

As they flew over the jungle, they took in every sight, sound and smell. The view of it from above was beautiful, and it made Hilary cuddle up to Tyson a bit. He smiled as she did. Sat across from Hilary was Kenny, with Dizzi in his hands. From left to right on the other side was Ray, Max, then Kai.

"So, Kai, anything happen while you were gone?" Tyson asked his rival, trying to get him to talk. Kai was always the enigma of the group; no one knew what went through his head, yet if they dared to dig deeper, they wouldn't get very far.

"I'm kinda of amazed you got on this quicker than the rest of us. We hadn't talked to you in eight whole years," Ray said.

"Boris is my business. I'm here for him, and him alone," Kai said. Although it did shock everyone else, they weren't surprised; Kai had always had an axe to grind when it came to Boris, and a pretty big one at that.

"It's good to see you again Kai," Max said, trying to make the situation a bit more lighthearted. But he kept looking out the window, causing yet more awkward silence.

"I'll bet he's glad on the inside to be back with his old friends," Tyson said. This made Kai smile, but once again it was brief. He really was happy to be reunited with them, but the first thing on Kai's mind was foiling whatever scheme Boris had planned.

"So, how much longer do you think it'll be before we get to Daichi?" Max asked.

"Um, Max...," Ray said, motioning over his blonde haired friend. Max peered over Ray's shoulder and saw a sandstorm brewing.

"Well, well, I wonder who that could be?" asked Dizzi sarcastically. This caused Max and Ray to emit brief chuckles. Tyson joined them, along with Hilary and Kenny, and saw the same thing that they saw.

"Think that's him?" Ray asked.

"I don't think so Ray. I know so," Tyson replied. He then walked to the front of the helicopter to talk to the pilot, telling him to follow the sandstorm. The pilot did as he did as he was told, and then they swooped down to a big enough patch of ground where the whole helicopter would fit without causing much damage to the jungle. They landed on the ground, and Tyson, Max, Kai, and Ray all jumped off the plane.

"You know, this feels like what we'd do to find Tyson if he ran away; just follow the trail of destruction," Ray said jokingly as they ran to the storm. Tyson laughed sarcastically before flipping Ray a bird. They all slowed down a bit as the sandstorm got stronger. They held their arms up to cover their faces. Well, except Kai. He pulled his scarf up.

"You're such a show-off sometimes Kai," Tyson said, getting an angry glare from Kai.

"There's only one way to get rid of this storm. Tyson!" Max said.

"I'm on it!" replied Tyson. He got his launcher and his cord from the pocket on the back off his jacket, and got his ever-trusty beyblade, Dragoon, from the pocket on his left shoulder, and got ready to launch Dragoon into action.

But before he could launch, the storm just died away on it's own, and at the center of it was a familiar looking purple beyblade, and not two feet behind it was a familiar looking figure. His spiky red hair and his green eyes looked outward to see his blade, Strata Dragoon, spinning around before turning and returning to his hands.

As Tyson and the others got closer, Daichi looked out as he saw them coming. He squinted his eyes a bit to try to help him see them a bit clearer. The moment he saw Tyson's face, he smiled. He had definitely matured; usually he would run up to Tyson and try go noogie him to death, or start up an argument with him. He sported his usual sleeveless blue shirt, along with light blues jeans with one leg torn up to the thigh. He wore blue and white shoes and a two read wristbands, one on leach wrist, and he held his launcher in his left hand. He had grown a few inches taller now too.

"Tyson, it's good to see you," Daichi said. His voice had broken in the last eight years.

"Okay... who are you and what have you done with Daichi?" Tyson asked, getting a laugh from the young blader.

"I'm still me, dude. I'm just a bit quieter," Daichi said.

"Quieter my ass! What was that sandstorm about?" Max said.

"I've been practicing. Gotta keep my strength up considering I'm a champion!" Daichi said.

"We've all still been training really hard, even though nothing big in Beyblading has come up in a while until this," Ray said offhandedly. Even though it was more of a thought, this still got everyone else to thinking.

"Enough of this. Come on Daichi, we gotta you on this chopper," Tyson said.

"First thing's first; I wanna battle," Daichi said.

"Okay, if you insist..." Tyson said, readying his launcher again.

"Not you Tyson. I want Kai!" Daichi said.

"We don't have time for this," Kai said frustratingly.

"Kai, I know you lost to me on purpose. We barely even launched before you let me kick Dranzer out!" Daichi said, showing some anger.

"I beat you once before, and in our second fight, yes, I lost on purpose. But only because I wanted to fight Tyson," Kai said.

"Best two out of three then!" Daichi said in a more demanding tone.

"I beat you once squirt, and I could have beaten you again. Consider yourself lucky that I chose to lose our second battle. Now shut up and get on this chopper," Kai said, clearly getting angry.

"Well then, I'll take Ray on!" Daichi said.

"What? Why me?" asked the former White Tiger.

"Because you and me haven't beybattled yet, and well, I really want to. So, what do you say?" Daichi asked.

"If it'll shut you up and get you on this plane with us," Ray said, grabbing his launcher from and his beyblade from his pockets, "then fine."

Daichi merely snarled and prepared his beyblade.

"Looks like we're calling this one," said Max to Tyson, who just nodded. They both started to countdown.

"3, 2, 1, let it rip!"

Ray and Daichi fired their beyblades simultaneously. There was no dish for them to fight in, so it was no holds barred; they had to either knock the other blade out, make it stop spinning, or destroy it. Daichi made the first move, getting Strata Dragoon to swerve and connect with Driger. Ray anticipated it however, and moved Driger to the side with such speed that Daichi's blade almost fell from that alone. Driger then slammed into Strata Dragoon, sending him careening deeper into the forest. Ray and Daichi wasted no time and ran after their blades, followed by Kai, Max and Tyson.

As soon as they got back to their beyblades, the battle resumed. Driger and Strata Dragoon ground against each other, causing sparks to fly and paint to chip. Strata Dragoon moved back for a fraction of a second, hoping to knock Ray's blade back. Once again, Ray saw it coming, and Driger swerved out of the way, once again crashing into Strata Dragoon. Daichi was getting angrier, and looked up for an answer. Eventually he found it; the trees. He was certain that Ray wouldn't catch him up there.

"Hey Ray, wanna see if cats can climb trees?" Daichi sneered, making his blade scale up a tree and into the branches. Ray followed suit, but not only did he command Driger to go up the tree, he himself jumped up. Daichi joined him later, but Ray's agility and lean build helped him get there quicker.

"You got this one Ray!" Tyson shouted.

"I've had enough of this. Daichi, you're a good kid, but I gotta end this one. Driger, Gatling Claw!" Ray screamed. A bolt of lightning came down and struck Ray's blade, causing it to glow a greenish aura. Driger caught up to Strata Dragoon, and Daichi's blade was attacked so fast it was like there were five copies of Driger.

"Finish him off Driger!" Ray screamed once again. His white tiger bit-beast rose from it's beyblade and both the beast and the blade charged for Strata Dragoon, colliding with him in a brilliant flash of light that sent Daichi's blade off the tree and spiraling down to the ground below, under the tree they still stood on. The branch under Daichi's feet started to snap, and Ray jumped down and waited as Daichi landed in his arms before he set him down on his feet.

"Thanks for the battle Ray. It was good to finally fight you," Daichi said, with a note of honesty. He really was much more humble nowadays. It made Ray smile.

"So, are you gonna come back with us?" Tyson asked as he appeared behind Ray, along with Kai and Max.

"Sure. Where are we headed?" Daichi asked.

"Germany. Which is good, because I wanna meet an old pal," Tyson said with a smirk. He thought about the previous beybattles he had with Robert.

"I think I can guess who it is," Max said, making Tyson laugh a bit as he scratched the back of his head.

"By the way, awesome fight you guys!" Tyson said as they started walking back to the helicopter.

"I thought so too. It was an honour to finally battle you Daichi," Ray said with a smile.

"It was nothing, really. Thanks for fighting me," Daichi replied.

Soon enough, they all got back to the helicopter. Daichi was pleased to see Kenny, Hilary and Mr. Dickenson there too.

"So, what's happening?" Daichi asked.

"Boris is setting up another Beyblade tournament, but we're gonna find out more about it when we get to wherever it is," Tyson said.

"I'm sure we'll know soon enough," Ray said.

"What do you mean Ray?" Tyson asked.

"Well, think about it. Dickenson has been aloof since the start. All he's brought up is the new tournament and the possibility that Boris has something up his sleeve. Then he said we had to get Daichi and now we're off to Germany," Ray said.

"That is strange indeed, Ray. But if I know Dickenson the way I think I do, he'll tell us more when the time comes," Kenny replied.

"Who knows? Maybe Robert has some information when we get to Germany," Tyson said offhandedly. Everyone agreed with him as they got ready to meet the leader of The Majestics.

"Remember the size of their bit-beasts?" Ray asked.

"Oh, yeah. They were huge!" Tyson replied.

"Were they really that big?" Daichi asked. Tyson simply nodded, and Daichi went "Awesome!"

They laughed the rest of the way to Germany. It was good to see that, despite the fact he was older and more humble, he was still their Daichi.

* * *

**Well, that's another chapter in the bag! Just thought I'd say thank you so far, and good news! I now have a title for my sequel to "Fast Time At Mobius High". It will be called "Things Change" and I will be working on that along with this story. See you soon dudes!**


	4. Fired Up

As they flew over Germany, they took in all the sights and sounds of the country. The weather soon changed to rain, but it didn't matter to them, as they got to Robert's castle pretty fast. They saw there were a few changes to it. They landed on a helipad on the roof of the castle that Robert owned. They saw Robert wave as the helicopter settled down on to the pad.

"Robert! Long time no see!" said Tyson, half shouting because of the chopper blades still whirring. He got off, followed by the rest of his friends.

"Good to see you again Tyson. Let's go inside before the rain gets the better of us," Robert said loudly. He led them through a door and inside a torch-lit room, complete with brick walls and a spiral staircase.

"So, why all the changes Robert?" Max asked.

"I needed to mostly. All the bladers that came here to practice with me caused a fair bit of damage. So, I figured since I had the money, I might as well make use of it," Robert said.

"I'm gonna take a swing and say you left something for any intruders too," Tyson suggested.

"Yes, I did. Stand back," Robert said as they reached the bottom. There was a silver double door there, and Robert was punching a code into a number-pad to open it. Looking back, he said "Okay. We can go in now."

The inside looked the same as it always was; a classical feel to it, with famous paintings hung everywhere, red carpets covering the whole floor, and servants popping in and out of rooms with clothes and food and trays. One of the servants, a male, walked up to Robert and the others.

"Master Robert, would you like me to escort your guests to different rooms?" asked the servant.

"No, they won't be here long. I just need them for a little while. Are the others here?" Robert asked.

"Yes. They're waiting for you in your office."

"Splendid. Thank you."

"Wow. The customer service in this place kicks ass," Tyson said.

"What can I say? I ask only for the best, and the best is what I get. Now, follow me," Robert said. He led them all down a few hallways before they reached his office; it looked like it always did, chess table and all.

"Please, take a seat," Robert said, gesturing to a table as he walked behind it. He took his own seat while Mr. Dickenson took the seat opposite to him; everyone else either stood up or sat down elsewhere.

"No doubt you've heard that Boris is up to something," Dickenson said to Robert.

"Yes. And whatever it is, it's not going to be good. What do we know?" Robert asked.

"As far as we know, it's your average Beyblading tournament," Dickenson said.

"Do we have anything else? Any leads?" Robert asked.

"Not so far. Anyone we've sent in to go undercover and find out has been reported missing. I haven't seen any of them in almost a month now, and I'm starting to get worried," Dickenson said with a hint of concern in his voice.

"Who has gone missing?" Ray asked from his seat.

"You're not going to like this... it's Tyson's brother, Hiro," Dickenson said, with heavy regret in his voice.

"Boris kidnapped Hiro? That son of a bitch. He's mine!" Tyson shouted.

"Dude, cool it!" Max said, trying to get Tyson to sit down. But the champion simply shrugged him off.

"Who else did he take?!" Tyson demanded.

"Tyson, calm down! Shouting about won't get you anywhere," Robert said forcefully. Hilary rose from her seat, and held Tyson's hand in hers.

"Please Tyson, remain calm," Hilary said gently. Tyson grunted and sat back down.

"He does have a good point," Kai said, to the surprise of everyone else in the room.

"What do you mean?" Kenny asked.

"Well, Tyson wanted to know who else Boris took. So, is there anyone we might know?" Kai asked Robert.

"Well, besides Hiro, I don't really know. All the Majestics are fine, and from what I gather so are most other teams. I'm sorry that I couldn't be of more, help, but I don't have much on anything" Robert said.

"You'll be fine," said a voice from the door that led to Robert's office. It was Johnny, a member of the Majestics and Robert's second in command. "Look, the sooner we find out what Boris is up to, the sooner we can save whoever he has locked up,"

"Good to see you Johnny," Ray said. Johnny gave him a thumbs up.

"How are the others?" Robert asked.

"Enrique is still sleeping his injuries off, and Oliver is helping in the kitchen," Johnny replied.

"What do you mean by injuries?" Kenny asked worriedly.

"Ever since we found out that Boris was on the rise again, we decided to put the extra time into our training. As a result, we have a tendency to get hurt here and there. But Enrique will be fine in time for the tournament, which is good because we need to get to the bottom of this," Robert said.

"Hey, sorry to throw you off topic Robert, but I gotta talk to you about something," Tyson said as he stood up. He had calmed down a bit now.

"What is it?" Robert asked.

"How do you feel about a battle?" Tyson asked.

"Hmm... why not? And besides, I need to keep off of the bey dish rust, as it were," Robert replied with a smile.

"I wanna battle too," Kai said.

"How come?" Tyson asked.

"Same reason as Robert," Kai replied simply.

"Well then, let's make it a tag battle. Me and Robert versus Tyson and Kai," Johnny said.

"That sound awesome. Kai, you up for it?" Tyson asked to his friend, who simply grunted.

"Come on, it might do you some good to put your anger towards Boris to some good use," Dickenson suggested. Kai simply nodded. He did need to blow off some steam with all the Boris business. He looked to Robert and asked "When and where?"

"Follow me. I'll pick Oliver up on the way," Robert said. They followed him out of the door about halfway down a hall before Robert stopped in front of a staircase and went down with the other staying close. They searched around for the kitchen, finding a familiar face. Oliver turned to them and smiled.

"Hey Robert," he said as he stirred some pasta.

"Good to see you again, Oliver," Ray said.

"You too," Oliver replied.

"So, we're having a beybattle if you wanna watch?" Tyson asked.

"Sure!" Oliver said as he stood up off the couch.

"I think you might like this fight," Max said with a smirk.

"Why? What's happening?" Oliver asked.

"Me and Kai are gonna have a tag battle with Johnny and Robert," Tyson said.

"Well then, why didn't you lead off with that?" Oliver asked, making the others laugh.

"Come on, follow me," Robert said. He walked down the halls with the others following close behind. He led them outside the front of his mansion, then he kept on walking. As he did, everyone else gasped at the large dish at the center. They were amazed that they didn't notice the dish on their way in. Robert and Johnny walked to one side of it, while Kai and Tyson stood on the other.

Everybody else stood a fair distance away; they had all experienced each blader's power on their own, but put together, they could do a lot of damage. Kenny flipped open his laptop, switching it on and turning the camera on the side to focus on the battle that was about to commence.

"What's the buzz, chief?" asked Dizzi.

"There's a match happening if you're interested," Kenny said.

"Well, you certainly know how to flatter a girl," Dizzi said sarcastically. Kai, Tyson, Johnny and Robert all prepared their launchers as everyone else counted down.

"3, 2, 1, let it rip!"

All four bladers launches simultaneously, with Johnny's blade being the first to hit the dish. It was joined by the others soon after, and Salamalyon and Griffolyon went straight for the middle of the dish. Tyson and Kai wasted no time, and their blades went straight for Johnny and Robert's blades. A grinding match ensued, and Kai and Tyson were pushing the Majestics' blades far back.

"Let's end this quick," Kai said, and looked over to Tyson to see him nodding in agreement.

"Dragoon, go for it!" Tyson yelled, commanding his blade to push harder. However, Johnny's and Robert's blades broke off to the confusion of Tyson and Kai.

"Get 'em Salamalyon! Fire Rod attack!" Johnny yelled. His blade built up power, ready to release the bit-beast, before Johnny canceled it, which sent an energy wave around.

"Did you feel that, Dizzi?" Kenny asked.

"I tasted that, chief!" Dizzi replied.

"What was that?" Hilary asked.

"It seems by canceling Salamalyon's attack, Johnny was able to conserve his energy, thus building up for a bigger attack. He just needs an opportunity to use it!" Dizzi said.

"Wait, you can just cancel attacks to make yourself stronger? Huh. I must have missed that in the Beyblading handbook," Max said, making the others laugh. They looked back to the dish to see Dranzer and Dragoon getting slammed around something fierce.

"I can't take anymore of this! Kai, we gotta think of something!" Tyson said.

"Too late now boys. Griffolyon, Wing Dagger attack!" Robert yelled. He then canceled the attack too.

"Just what are they up to?" Dickenson asked.

"They seem to just want to build up their power. The more they build up, the more chance they have of taking Kai and Tyson out with one big attack. I'm amazed they can store all that energy," Dizzi said.

"Wait... that's it! Tyson, Kai, listen up!" Kenny yelled.

"What's up chief?" Tyson asked.

"They're storing their power, but they can't keep the energy for much longer. Wait them out for a bit, then attack," Kenny said. Tyson nodded and turned his focus back to the battle.

"I've had enough of this. Salamalyon, finish them! Fire Rod!" Johnny yelled, as his bit-beast rose from it's blade. Robert soon followed suit, yelling "Griffolyon, Wing Dagger!" as his bit-beast did the same as Johnny's.

"We got them right where we want them. Dragoon, Evolution Storm!" Tyson screamed. His famous Dragoon bit-beast soared from his blade as the blade itself spun faster. It created a large tornado which swept up Griffolyon and Salamalyon.

"My turn. Dranzer, Spiral Fireball attack!" Kai yelled. His bit-beast shot out of the blade, and covered the blade in scorching fire as it flew straight to Johnny's and Robert's blades. It hit both of them hard, and Johnny and Robert's blades were sent flying out so far that they hit a far off wall.

"Wow Kai, I knew you were strong, but I didn't expect that kind of power," Tyson said as his and Kai's blades returned to them.

"It's like Ray said, we've all been training hard," Kai replied. He didn't want Tyson to know the reason why he let out so much strength.

"Well, let's head back to the chopper. We're off to America to visit Max's mom!" Mr Dickenson said as Robert and Johnny picked their beyblades back up.

"It was good seeing you again Tyson. I'll see you in the tournament," Robert said as he walked over to the champion.

"Yeah, you can count on it," Tyson replied.

* * *

**So, another chapter is over. Same case with Robert as it is for everyone else with clothes and beyblades; just picture the G-Revolution days. It'll also be the same for future chapters so I won't have to explain it anymore. I'm gonna add two more chapters to my Sonic story before working on this one. I just wanna balance them out is all. And not every chapter will have a fight in it, I just wanted another one I guess. I hope you liked it, and I hope you like the story. Until then dudes.**


	5. Homecoming

Everyone was sat at the helicopter again, having a casual chat about the recent events. The winds were getting pretty strong.

"So, what made you think we came across Robert and his Majestics again?" Hilary asked to no one in particular.

"I don't know, but it sure as hell was no coincidence," Ray answered her as he looked out the window.

"Ah, who cares? I can't wait to fight him in the tournament," Tyson said.

"That's our Tyson. Always looking on the bright side!" Max exclaimed, making the champion chuckle.

"Speaking of the tournament, is that where we're heading now?" Kenny asked to Mr. Dickenson.

"No. We're going to America to pay a quick visit to Max's mother to get more information on the whereabouts of Hiro," replied Mr. Dickenson.

"Great! I can see my mom again. She must have been worried about me," Max said.

"I'm pretty sure she's okay. Saying that, I'd expect a big hug if I were you, Max," Tyson said to his blonde friend.

"Yeah. But we were all away for about half a day. This helicopter gets around fast," Max said.

"Well, Max, it looks as though we're almost there now. Which is a good thing, the fuel's getting low," Mr. Dickenson said. Soon they landed at a nearby helipad, and got off. They were greeted by a ginger haired girl who wore glasses and tennis clothes. It was Emily, a member of the All Starz, later known as the PPB All Starz.

"Emily. Good to see you again," Kenny said as he got off the helicopter.

"Hey there, Kenny!" Emily said, and she ran over and gave the young genius a big hug.

"Um, where's Judy?" Kenny asked.

"She's waiting at her facility along with the other All Starz. I trust Mr. Dickenson has told you why he brought you here?" Emily suggested.

"Yeah. We're here to get more info on who got taken," Tyson said.

"Good. So, now you're up to speed, follow me," Emily said, and they did as she told them. She led them to a long, white limousine.

"Wow. What's with the limo?" Tyson asked.

"It's good enough to get us all to the facility at ground level. Plus, taking a helicopter the rest of the way there isn't a good thing. The winds around here would probably knock it down, and we can't have that, now can we?" Emily asked. They all got into the limo, surprised by the size of it.

"It's a lot bigger on the inside than it is outside, I guess," Max said jokingly.

"Yeah. So, Max, what have you been up to?" Emily asked as they all sat down.

"Just the same old stuff. Working with my dad, making beyblade parts, the usual," Max replied.

"Have you still been practicing your beyblading?" Emily asked.

"Yeah. We all have," Max said.

"Good. I can't wait!" Emily said excitedly.

"Can't wait for what?" Tyson asked.

"You'll know when we get there," Emily answered. Max looked at her with a completely baffled look on his face. Within no time, they reached the facility. It was just like Max remembered it, and it gave him a smile to know nothing much had changed.

"Feels like I'm home again," Max said. Then the familiar sound of beyblades colliding and kids laughing struck his ears. He looked around and saw a huge glass window. He ran over to it and peered through to see a bunch of kids battling each other. It made him smile.

"Looks like somebody's happy," Tyson said jokingly. Max replied with a simple chuckle and a smile. He really was happy to be back home.

"I know you miss it Max, but don't you miss me even more?" a voice asked. Max turned around and saw his mother, Judy, walking up to him and the rest of the group. Despite being in his early twenties, Max dashed up to his mother and wrapped his arms around her waste in a hug, which she returned in kind.

"I missed you, mom," Max said.

"I missed you too, Max," Judy replied.

"So, why did you need us all here?" Ray asked Judy as she and her son released their hug.

"It is to do with who else Boris has kidnapped," Judy answered the White Tiger.

"We're willing to help however we can, Judy," Tyson said.

"Thank you. All of you," Judy said, she then turned to Max, "Mariam got kidnapped."

The blonde haired Bladebreaker just stood there with his eyes wide open as his mother put her hands on his shoulders in an attempt to calm him down. He looked down at the ground, clenching his fists.

"Max, this is your call," Kai said. Max hadn't expected that from Tyson, let alone Kai. Max simply gave Kai a thumbs up, and then turned to his mother, asking "What else do we need to know?"

"I'm glad you asked. Everybody, follow me," Judy said. They followed Judy to a room which had lots of computers, cameras, monitors, and anything else you could think of that was even remotely technological or electrical, and there were holographic keyboards in front of the monitors and computers. In the center of the room was a huge table with holographic images being projected onto it. Judy led them to the cameras, where a lot of footage showing Boris was playing.

"We have been watching Boris since he resurfaced after the BEGA incident. As far as we know for people who got kidnapped, there is Mariam, Hiro, DJ Jazzman, and the whole Saint Shields team," Judy told them.

"How did they find all the Saint Shields?" Tyson asked.

"They had some help," Judy replied. She then typed into a holographic keyboard which appeared in front of one of the monitors. An image showed of a familiar looking female doctor, who had black hair and light purple eyes.

"That's Doctor K!" Tyson exclaimed.

"Yes. She's been helping Boris out recently with the kidnappings," Judy replied.

"Max, we'll find them. We'll save them," Ray said to his blonde haired friend.

"I know. Mom, do you have any idea where we should start looking next?" Max asked his mother.

"I think China would be the best idea. Maybe somebody there knows more. I wish I could have helped more," Judy said. Max simply hugged her and thanked her.

"It's okay, mom. You did your best. Now all that's left to do is go find them and bring them home," Max said as he let go of the hug.

"Max, good to see you," said a voice. He looked around until he saw the source of the voice, which was at the door that led into the room that Max and his friends were in. It was Rick, who was the last addition to the All Starz. He stood there along with his fellow teammates; Eddy, Michael, and Steve.

"Rick? What are you doing here?" Max asked.

"I've been helping around a little bit. How's your dad?" Rick asked.

"He's okay," Max replied.

"Good. Now come with me," Rick said.

"What for?" Max asked.

"We're gonna battle. I've been waiting for you to come back so we could fight," Rick said. Max gave Rick a smirk. He knew that when Rick had his mind set to it, he wouldn't back down. Rick led Max and everyone else down to one of the bey-dishes that the kids were playing at. Both Rick and Max prepared to launch as everybody else counted backwards from 3. Soon, Rick and Max yelled "LET IT RIP!" and both launched their beyblades.

"Give me everything you've got, Max!" Rick said. Max allowed his Draciel beyblade to take the center of the dish and assumse it's defensive position. Rick's beyblade, Rock Bison, kept going for Draciel again and again only to be blocked and pushed away.

"Are you seriously still on that "defense is the best offense" thing? We both know it's bullcrap!" Rick yelled. Max simply showed the All Star a smile, and it was for three reasons; the first was that Max was happy to be fighting again, and he didn't care who it was against. The second reason is the fact that despite Rick's trash talking, Max was glad to see him back to his old self. And third and finally, Max loved nothing more than to prove Rick wrong. He did it before, and he knew he would do it again.

"That's always been your problem, Rick," Max said to his former All Starz teammate.

"What problem would that be?" Rick asked.

"You were always too pigheaded and brash when we fought. Although I have to admit, I like that nothing's changed. Shame it's gotta end now," Max answered.

"The only person who this is going to end for is you. Rock Bison, Drop Rock attack!"

And with that, Rick's beyblade launched into the air and gathered small bits of the bey dish and any other ground around him. Soon enough, the small bits of rock had surrounded Rock Bison, and after it completely covered Rock Bison in a rock-like shell, it plummeted downwards onto Draciel with the force of a meteor. Draciel moved away at the last second, and Rick's beyblade was stuck in place.

"What the... I can't move!" Rick said, agitated. He was a bit happy that his beyblade was still spinning, but he was still angry because his beyblade was obviously low on energy.

"Draciel, use Aqua Shield, now!" Max yelled. His beyblade became surrounded by water, and soon the bey-dish was covered in water too. Max's Draciel beyblade rode around on it like it was a tidal wave, and soon the water drowned Rock Bison, causing it to slow.

"That's the way, Max!" Tyson yelled. Max simply gave his best friend a thumbs up before turning his attention back to the battle.

"Draciel, let's finish this fight! Give it everything you've gotl!" Max shouted. Soon, his Draciel bit-beast spawned from it's beyblade, giving a loud roar. Max's beyblade spun in the opposite direction, gaining speed as it did. The water that surrounded Rick's beyblade soon closed up around it, sapping it of what little remained of it's energy.

"Come on, Rock Bison! Fight your way out of this!" Rick yelled. But it was no use. After the water had died down, Rick's beyblade was motionless and was turned on it's side.

"Looks like I win," Max said. Rick picked his beyblade back up. He then looked at Max, and gave him a thumbs up and a big smile. Max returned the gesture.

"Looks as though we're ready to move on to the next stage," Ray said.

"What do you mean?" Kenny asked the former White Tiger as Max came back over to his teammates.

"Well, now we've all battled at least once, we've been able to prove we don't have any dish rust, so to speak. We have all trained ourselves really for the least eight years; body, mind, soul, and heart. We're ready for whatever's next," Ray said. Everyone simply agreed with him. He was right. They were as ready as they'd ever be. But would it be enough for what lies ahead?


	6. Cat Fight

Everyone was planning to get on the helicopter again to head to China, but after traveling around for so long they decided to stay at a nearby hotel that was close to the facility. They were led there by Judy and Emily.

"This is a pretty fancy place," Hilary said.

"It is. Look at it! They got butlers at every door, carpets as red as rubies, glass chandeliers everywhere... it's beautiful!" Max exclaimed. Everyone gave him an odd look. "What? A guy can't appreciate the beauty of a good hotel?" he asked, making them chuckle.

"Hang on. Since we're in a hotel..." Kenny started.

"That means a buffet," Daichi finished for him. Then, everybody else turned to look at Tyson, expecting him to jump up to the buffet and steal anything he could for food. But he didn't.

"Um, Hilary?" Daichi asked.

"Yes, Daichi?" Hilary replied.

"Why isn't Tyson scarfing down all the food at the buffet?" Daichi asked again, getting a chuckle from Tyson's girlfriend.

"Well, I taught him how to restrain himself. He still eats like a pig, and still eats a lot, but he's less hyperactive about it. Plus, he does need to keep that cute body in shape..." Hilary said, trailing off at the end. She realized what she said about Tyson's body, but didn't care; they were boyfriend and girlfriend.

"I did notice that Tyson has kept himself in better shape lately," Emily said. Kenny felt a slight pang of jealousy about that; he had a major crush on Emily, which was returned. But he let it slide as Tyson was his best friend, and he already had a girlfriend of his own. Hilary also felt a wee bit jealous, but squashed it down.

"So, where should we start?" Tyson asked, referring to the buffet. His tummy grumbled loudly.

"Really? You're not going to jump the gun?" Ray asked.

"Nope. But that won't stop me from eating like a king," Tyson replied, making the former White Tiger chuckle. The Beyblade champion stood true to his word. He got every type of food imaginable on his plate. Well, plates. There was no way one plate was gonna fit all the food that Tyson wanted on it. Everyone gave him a look of disgust mixed with amusement.

"That's our Tyson!" Max said.

"You're one to talk, blondie. At least I'm not the one who has mustard with his noodles," Tyson retorted.

"Yeah, well, at least it's just on my noodles. You have mustard, ketchup, soy sauce... pretty much everything on your food," Max replied with a smile.

"Everybody had better eat up quick. We're heading to China in the morning to visit the White Tigers. They could have some vital information that could help us crack further into whatever Boris and Doctor K are planning," Mr. Dickenson said.

"It would be good to see them again," Ray said offhandedly. By 'them', everybody knew that Ray meant 'her'.

"How is Mariah anyway?" Kai asked, immediately catching on. It made Ray stumble a bit, but he gritted his teeth and answered the question anyway.

"She's actually pretty great. I want to ask her to marry me at some point," Ray said. He then gave a look to Tyson. Tyson was the only person, besides Ray of course, who knew about Ray wanting to pop the question. Tyson kept it a secret for Ray.

"That's fantastic news! Have you picked out a ring?" Hilary asked.

"Sort of," Ray replied sheepishly.

"Just 'sort of'?" Hilary questioned jokingly.

"Let's just say it's a good thing we're off to China soon. The rings here are beautiful, but there's one back home I had my eye on. I would have gotten it, but then a certain Beyblade chairman called me to go to Fukuoka airport," Ray said, glaring at Mr. Dickenson. The White Tiger soon turned the glare off, and started smiling, which then turned to a hearty laugh, where he was soon joined by the others. He stopped laughing briefly to continue his sentence, "And then I met my friends again and then we wound up going all over the world, fighting old rivals and finding out who's been behind the kidnappings. So it's not all bad!"

Soon enough, they finished their meal. Unsurprisingly, Tyson was the fastest to finish, even with the fact he had the most food. He made a big mess as always.

"Well, it's getting late, and we need to head back to the facility," Emily said. She was right. It was pushing 11:00 pm now, and the Bladebreakers needed their sleep, and plenty of it. They hadn't gotten much rest since this whole trip started, so it could do them some good.

"It was good to see you again, Max," Judy said, giving her son a big hug.

"You too, mom," Max replied as Judy let go of the hug. Suddenly, Emily started walking over to Kenny.

"Um... do you need help with anything?" Kenny asked. His only reply was a kiss on his cheek, which caused him to blush.

"See you later, cutie," Emily said before following Judy out of the hotel's front doors. Kenny just stood there, a blush spread all across his face. Tyson was tempted to tease the young genius, but opted against it, simply saying "Well, I think it's time for bed. We got a lot of work to do."

They slept through the night without too much hassle. Mr. Dickenson had told them that they were off to China, which was a long way away, so they got as much rest in as they could. They were in the helicopter waiting to land in China.

"I bet Ray's happy," Tyson said.

"What makes you think that?" Ray replied.

"Well, the fact that you're going to meet your old teammates for one. And for two, you're gonna meet with her..." Tyson said, drifting off at the end on purpose. He was tempted to make fun of Ray for his relationship with Mariah, but he decided not to. Besides, Ray was smarter than him. Also there's the fact that Tyson is dating Hilary, which everyone found a bit of a shock considering their constant bickering in the past, let alone Ray.

Tyson knew that Ray wouldn't hold the fact the Tyson and Hilary were dating, but he knew better than to keep talking, which was something he was never good at in the past. Hilary had taught him well, kept him grounded. It was one of the many reasons he loved her.

"We're here!" Mr. Dickenson said from the cockpit. Not long after his sentence, the helicopter found solid ground and the doors on the side of it opened up. Everyone stepped out, and Ray was the last to exit. He took a big sniff of the air and smiled wider than he had in a long time.

"Must be good to finally be back home, huh?" asked Kai with a smirk. Ray simply replied with a nod.

"Who are we here to see, Mr. Dickenson?" Tyson asked the BBA chairman.

"We're here to see the White Tiger X team. They have some information as to who else was kidnapped," Mr' Dickenson replied.

"Well Ray, this is your home. Would you kindly lead the way?" Hilary asked Ray.

"Gladly," Ray replied. He took the lead, and the others stayed close behind. He soon found the village where he most resided. He bought his own house there that he shared with his girlfriend, Mariah, also a White Tiger. Along with his house, his fellow former White Tiger X teammates, Kevin, Gary and Lee, also resided in houses of their own. Although they were no longer a team, they were still great friends, regularly training and competing in friendly beyblade battles. Even though it was Lee who led the team when Ray ran, it was Ray who held them together through thick and thin.

Ray lead the way for everyone else and they soon found Lee's house. They entered to discover that the other White Tigers present, save for Mariah and Kevin.

"Where are the others?" Ray asked almost worriedly.

"Right here," said a voice. Ray turned to see that Kevin had appeared at the door just after Kai had entered, being the one who stuck behind.

"Kevin here was just out getting some fruit. Mariah's getting some meat, but she had to go farther away so she may take longer," Lee told Ray. Kevin presented a brown cloth bag full of various fruit.

"It's good to see you, Ray!" said Gary, and he walked over and gave his friend a hug, which Ray gladly returned. Despite Gary's massive size, Ray didn't flinch in the slightest.

"You too," Ray replied as the hug stopped. He then walked over to Lee and shook his hand, before walking over to Kevin and ruffling his hair.

"And what about me?" asked another voice. A female. The only voice Ray wanted to hear. He smiled and turned around to see his pink-haired girlfriend, Mariah, standing at the door. Ray didn't need to speak; he walked over to his girlfriend, grabbed her hands in his own, and planted a kiss on her lips, which she returned. It was swift, but still sweet. Then, a sudden realization flashed in Ray's mind. Letting go of the kiss, he let go of Mariah's hands and dashed out.

"Don't start without me!" he shouted as he ran. He headed to the nearest jewelry store, and he saw the ring he wanted. It was a simple silver band, with a white diamond in the middle of it. It had markings of ten smaller diamonds going around in a circle in the white diamond's center. The smaller diamonds were two different colours, and in order went green then pink then green etc. The green diamonds echoed similarities to Ray's bit beast Driger, and the pink was a reference to Mariah's bit-beast, Galux. He paid for the ring and put it in his back pocket before heading back to Lee's house as fast as he could.

"Okay..." said Ray as he burst back through the door, panting slightly, before simply adding "Go."

"Right. Well, no one has been kidnapped, but Gary did almost come close," Lee said.

"What do you mean?" asked Max.

"It's easier if I show you," Gary answered. He lifted his left sleeve and revealed a large red mark.

"What happened?" Ray asked.

"Me and Gary were looking for some food, and we came across an alleyway. We saw two people, and we didn't know who they were. Upon closer inspection we found that they wore armoured combat suits and had tasers. They tried to get to us, but we ran. I was a little quicker than Gary though. He got shocked in the arm, but luckily the big lug managed to break out of their grip and escape," Kevin said. Gary smiled at that, then he rolled his sleeve back down.

"When Gary and Kevin came back and told us what happened, we went back to find the guys in the suits, but they were gone by the time we got there," Mariah added.

"Is there any hint you can give us as to who's behind all this?" Lee asked.

"Well, I'm sure you're aware that Boris is one of them. But he's also getting help from Doctor K," Mr. Dickenson told him.

"Who's Doctor K?" Mariah asked.

"Well, she's this scientist who lured us to this island and tried to steal our bit-beasts. We thought we took that place off the grid for good, but apparently she survived," Tyson replied.

"That reminds me, I wonder how Kane and everyone else are doing?" Kai asked.

"Kane you say?" Lee asked.

"Yeah. You know him?" Tyson asked Lee.

"Yeah. He's been helping us teach the kids around here. He's with his other friends, too. They're staying at a nearby house ," Lee said. By other friends, Tyson knew that Lee meant Goki, Salima, and Jim.

"What's all the commotion about?" asked a voice from the door. Everyone turned to see Kane, Jim, Goki, and Salima all stood there.

"I really need to put a lock on that door," Lee said.

"What are you guys doing here?" asked Mariah.

"We heard a helicopter landed. We thought it might be the same guys who were hounding us so we came to check if you were okay," Salima said.

"But we're glad to see that everyone's fine," Goki added.

"We're glad to see you guys again," Tyson said as he walked over to Kane. They bumped their fists together.

"Hey, Mariah," Salima said out of nowhere.

"Yes?" Mariah asked.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Salima said.

"Um..." was all Mariah could muster. She really had no idea what was happening.

"We were supposed to have a battle today after we were finished teaching," Salima said.

"Oh! I'm sorry. Um, yeah, let's go," Mariah said. The two girls dashed out and were quickly followed by everyone else. They came to a circular tree stump that was almost in the center of the village, and all the pedestrians nearby stopped what they were doing to come closer and inspect what was happening. Salima and MAriah took their positions on opposite sides of the stump.

"You ready?" asked Salima as she got out her launcher, cord and beyblade.

"As ready as I'll ever be!" Mariah replied as she did the same. Tyson started the countdown, and was soon followed by everyone else.

"3, 2, 1, LET IT RIP!"

Simultaneously, Salima and Mariah both fired their beyblades into the center of the stump. They both started circling each other before Mariah made the first move.

"Galux, go get her! Hit her hard!" Mariah exclaimed. Galux followed Mariah's orders well, slamming, hitting, and grinding Salima's beyblade from all possible angles. But Salima didn't let up an inch.

"Cyber Driger, blast back at her! Give it your all!" Salima cried. Hey beyblade followed suit, knocking Galux back a bit and giving Cyber Driger some breathing room. Despite the fact that the Cyber Driger bit-beast no longer resided in her blade, Salima kept the name anyway.

A grinding match ensued, with Galux pushing Cyber Driger further out of the stump. Despite being on the edge of the stump and almost being pushed out, Salima seized an opportunity to push herself away and slam back, which she did pretty well.

"Good move, Salima," Mariah complimented as Salima's and Mariah's blade clashed again.

"You're not too bad yourself," Salima replied.

They resumed grinding a bit longer, but then Salima pushed away again when one of the edges of her beyblade came flying off.

"That's the price of fighting a cat. You're gonna get scratched!" Mariah said.

"That was a good move, but this isn't over! Cyber Driger, no holding back!" Salima yelled. Hey beyblade kicked it up a notch and started hitting Galux from all possible angles.

"I've never seen Salima blade like this," Kane said.

"Same here. She's definitely taken good control," Jim added.

"Who would have thought your girlfriend would be so good, Kane?" Goki further added.

"I didn't know you guys were going out," Max said.

"Yeah. Almost a year and a half now actually. Things are great," Kane said.

"Good to hear. Let's keep watching the match, shall we?" Max asked, to which Kane nodded in response.

"Enough of this. Galux, Cat Bites now!" Mariah yelled. Her bit-beast, the mighty Galux, sprang forth from it's beyblade and started sprinting for Cyber Driger. After a couple of swift movements, Galux slammed into Cyber Driger and almost knocked it straight into Salima's chest had Salima not been quick enough to get her hand up to catch it.

"Hey, that was a good match," said Mariah as she walked over to her opponent. Mariah offered her hand, and Salima shook it.

"We'll have to do this again sometime," Salima said. Mariah smiled in reply, then she let go of the handshake. She turned to see that everyone else was gone but Ray, who was on one knee.

"Mariah, I love you, and I can't imagine a life without you. I want to ask you something, and I want you to say yes..." he then reached into his back pocket and pulled out the ring he bought.

"It's beautiful Ray," Mariah said.

"Yeah, it is. It's not a patch on you though. Mariah, will you marry me?" Ray asked.

"Of course I will!" Mariah replied. Ray slipped the ring on her finger and then stood up, capturing Mariah's lips in a sweet kiss. Everyone that was presumed gone popped up from behind a nearby house and came over to congratulate the new couple.

"We should get some rest while we're here," Mr. Dickenson said.

"How come?" Tyson replied.

"We're going to Brazil tomorrow to meet with Miguel. He has some vital information that could help us," replied the BBA chairman.

"Miguel. Man, it's been too long since we last saw him," Tyson said. He was excited. He had some good matches with Miguel, and he looked forward to another one.

* * *

**I have no idea whether or not Team Psykick kept their cyber bit-beasts. I have watched the whole Beyblade series but my memory is hazy, so some clarification would be great. And once again, sorry for the random battle. But aren't you happy it ended on a good note? Mariah and Ray are getting married! Hooray! Anyway, there will be more of this and my Sonic story soon so stay tuned in dudes!**


	7. Once A Blader, Always A Blader

As everyone rested in the various houses dotted around China, Ray and Mariah stayed up together as everyone else slept. They had just finished making love, which was an act they were familiar with, but all the more meaningful given that Ray was away for a while and they had just gotten engaged. Mariah's head lay on Ray's chest as they both smiled in content.

"It looks so beautiful," Ray said as he lifted Mariah's left hand to look closer at the ring he gave her.

"It truly is...but not as beautiful or meaningful as this moment. Everything feels right. It's a shame you can't stay," Mariah said.

"Please, don't remind me. I just wanna lay back and enjoy being with you before heading out tomorrow," Ray said, making his girlfriend smile.

"I like the sound of that," Mariah replied as she curled up on Ray as Ray wrapped her in his arms.

As soon as they closed their eyes, Mariah smelled something strange.

"You smell that, Ray?" Mariah asked her fiance.

"I do," the former White Tiger said. He leaped out of his bed and put his pajamas on, offering Mariah her own clothes to put on. As soon as they were dressed, they dashed out of the house and looked around to see Tyson and Lee staring over a fence in pure awe. Ray and Mariah followed their lead and saw what was happening: a house was on fire.

"Where's Max when you need him?" Tyson asked.

"Right here," Max replied, still in his pajamas.

"Oh. Good. Anyway, the damn forest is on fire. We gotta put it out!" Tyson said.

"We should split into groups. The fire seems to be spreading in a wide circle. Kai and I will take the east section of the forest. Ray, you and Kevin take the west. Tyson and Max get the north, and Gary, Mariah and Daichi will take the south. Sound good?" Lee asked.

"No argument here. Let's go!" Tyson bellowed.

Within moments they reached the forest, as it wasn't too far off from the village. Everyone used their blades to put the fire out, but the flames only grew stronger no matter what they did. Then, Kai heard a child crying.

"Dammit! I'm gonna head in there," Kai said.

"Are you freaking nuts?!" Lee asked.

"Just a little bit. Dranzer, return!" Kai yelled as his beyblade returned to his hands, Kai catching it on the way as he dashed through the fire, covering his face with his scarf so he didn't choke on the flames.

Within the center of the forest, Kai vaguely made out a shadowy figure on their knees. He thought it was the kid that he heard crying, but on closer inspection he saw it was someone else. It was Hiro, Tyson's brother, but he was wearing his Jin of The Gale outfit.

"Hiro? What are you doing here?" Kai asked. He saw Jin turn around and noticed he was holding the crying child, which was a boy, in his arms.

"You can't save everyone," Hiro said, then he just vanished the next second. Then, the flames went down, and Kai could see the boy in the middle of the forest again.

"Kai!" Tyson yelled.

"What the hell happened?" Max asked.

"I saw Hiro. He was here, but he just vanished," Kai answered.

"That's impossible. He was captured by Boris, right?" Max asked to no one in particular.

"Right. It was probably just an illusion or something," Tyson answered. He then saw Kai walk over to the boy and pick him up from the ground.

"He's conscious, but he breathed in a fair amount of smoke," Kai said.

"Let me take him. I'll see if the village elder can help him," Mariah said, walking to the others with Gary and Daichi at her left and right sides, respectively. She leaned down and picked up the boy, seeing his face partially blackened due to the fire.

"Okay, everyone back to bed. We still have an appointment tomorrow, remember?" Mr. Dickenson said. He wore pajamas like everyone else, but they looked more suit-like in comparison to the others' clothing. Everyone headed back to bed.

**The next morning...**

"Why do you have to go to Brazil?" Mariah asked, now in her normal clothes again.

"I told you, Miguel could have some information in relation to who else might have gotten stolen, and with the supposed return of Hiro, we need answers now more than ever," Ray answered, also dressed fully.

"But I don't want you to leave. Not after last night," she said with a saddened tone, softly looking downwards.

Ray walked over to her.

"Hey, look at me," he said, tilting her face up so she could see him. "I will never forget last night. I promise, after all this is over, we'll return to the village, we'll get married, we'll have the rest of our lives to spend together," Ray said, pecking a kiss on her cheek.

"Cross your heart and hope to die?" Mariah asked. Ray stood back and crossed an X shape over his heart with his right hand, smirking as he did so. Then they heard someone knocking at their door.

"Come on guys! The helicopter's about to take off!" said Kenny from the opposite side of the door.

"I guess that's your cue," Mariah said. Ray simply nodded, then walked up to her and captured her lips in a sweet, short kiss.

"I promise, I'll come back as soon as I can, safe and sound," Ray said.

"I can take care of myself, tiger. Now go!" Ray dashed out of the door and hopped in the helicopter, waving goodbye to his village and his love just before he sat down between Max and Daichi.

"We'll come back Ray. Oh, and before I forget, congratulations," Tyson said.

"Thanks, dude. Who wants to be the best man?" Ray asked jokingly.

"I think it's a little early yet," Tyson replied sarcastically as the helicopter left the ground. They all noticed that Kai, who was sat by the window, was focusing solely and what was outside of the chopper.

"Kai?" Max asked.

"You okay, there?" Hilary followed. She had sat between Kai and Tyson.

"I'm fine. It's just..." Kai trailed off.

"What's up?" Hilary asked.

"It's what Hiro, or whoever that guy was, said. He said 'you can't save everyone'," Kai answered.

"What do you think he meant by that?" Kenny asked.

"Maybe he means that some of the people that got caught by Boris are becoming brainwashed. I'm betting that's what's happened to Hiro," Daichi said, snapping his fingers at the end as if he figured something out.

"You're wrong, Daichi," Tyson said.

"Oh? And what makes you say that?" Daichi demanded.

"Well, Hiro's my big brother. He's strong, fast, and smart enough to not be brainwashed, especially by Boris. And even if he was brainwashed, and he meant what he said, well I say screw that. We're gonna save all those people, no matter the cost," Tyson said. "Does that answer your question, Daichi?" he continued, turning to the red-haired blader.

"Um... yeah. That pretty much fills the gaps," Daichi answered.

"I am so hot for you right now," Hilary whispered into Tyson's ear, making the Beyblading champion's mouth turn up at one side. Hilary then started kissing his cheek before Tyson turned to her to kiss her lips.

"Get a room, you two," Max joked, making Hilary and Tyson stop their kissing.

"It's nice to see you two are so happy together. It's almost hard to believe how much you used to hate each other," Max commented.

"Thanks. How were things with Mariam? You know, before she got kidnapped and all?" Tyson asked.

"Oh, things are great! I can't wait to save her from Boris' clutches, I'll tell you that much," Max answered, making everyone, even Kai, laugh.

"What about you, Kenny? How are things with Emily?" Ray asked.

"Well, we're not ready to get married quite like you and Mariah, but things are going well between us," Kenny replied.

"That just leaves Kai and Daichi," Tyson said.

"Well, there is a girl I kinda like back where I live, but she has a boyfriend. Plus, I rarely see much of her since I'm out and blading and training," Daichi said.

"What about you, Kai?" Tyson asked.

"Ah, he'll never talk when it comes to girls. Always keeping himself to himself," Max teased.

"Actually, there is someone I like. I just don't know where she is," Kai said.

"Who is it?" Ray asked.

"...I don't want to talk about it," Kai said.

"Someone we know?" Kenny asked.

"Kind of. But like I said, I don't want to talk about it," Kai repeated, a bit louder than he needed to.

"But what about-" Tyson started, before Hilary cut him off.

"Tyson, leave him be. If he doesn't want to talk about it, then let him keep it to himself," Hilary said lowly so only Tyson could hear her.

"Fine," Tyson said.

"We're here!" Mr. Dickenson said over the intercom.

"That didn't take as long as I thought it would," Max said.

"Yeah, this helicopter moves around at astonishing speeds. I should know; I helped design it myself," Kenny said. Tyson smirked at his friend before they all hopped off the helicopter, seeing a familiar face.

"Tyson, guys, good to see you!" said Miguel with a smile.

"Miguel, it's been a while," Tyson said, walking up to the captain of the Barthez Battalion and giving him a firm handshake.

"Where are the rest of your team?" Max asked.

"That's what I need to tell you. Follow me," Miguel said. They followed him through the streets, looking around and taking in the beauty of the city around them.

"Things have improved around here," Tyson said.

"Yeah. Me and the others have been helping to rebuild it ever since Boris left his mark. We've been trying to erase it ever since, but it's grown back, as I'm sure you've heard," Miguel said.

"Of course we've heard. That's why you called us here, isn't it?" Max asked.

"Yeah. That's one reason. The other is this," Miguel said, pulling a small phone from his pocket. He typed a few buttons in before a voice message played.

"Miguel, this is Mathilda. Aaron and Claude tried keeping me safe from Boris, but they were captured. I don't have a lot of time left. I have to go. If you get this, please, send help."

Kai grunted lowly and looked down. Hilary took slight notice of this, but given the circumstances, she decided not to press him on the issue.

"It took a few weeks for that message to be re-recorded properly. Our guess is Boris has some serious electronic equipment over at his base, the location of which we're still shaky on. We know it's something to do with this Beyblade tournament Boris is setting up," Miguel said.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Come on, Miguel!" Tyson said, making a dash for the door.

"No..." Miguel said. Tyson stopped in his tracks.

"I've retired," Miguel added.

"How can you be retired at 24 years old?" Max asked, somewhat sarcastically, but with a fairly serious tone.

"Because I don't want to go back there. Barthez is working closely with Boris, and if I get near Barthez again, I won't be able to escape his influence like last time," Miguel said.

"That's no excuse!" Tyson yelled.

"Tyson, calm down," Kenny said.

"No way, Chief. Miguel, you don't quit just because you're scared your old coach might try to get you to join his side again. You were strong enough to overcome him once, you can do it again," Tyson said.

"I'm not that strong. Overcoming his influence didn't come easy; it took you to knock some sense into me. Honestly, it felt good to blade without having to use any dirty tricks or propaganda to win people over. But if I do this, I won't be able to keep that feeling, help or no help," Miguel said.

"Fine. When we rescue your teammates, we'll be sure to drop a word about how much of a coward you are. Let's go, guys," Tyson said. They all hopped back onto the helicopter, with Miguel walking out with them. Tyson looked out of the window as the chopper took to the air, his gaze fixed on Miguel.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Max asked to no one in particular.

"He'll be fine," Ray answered.

* * *

**Thanks for sticking with me so far! Next chapter will be up soon. You all rock.**


	8. Stay Frosty

As everyone sat in the chopper that was on it's way to Russia, Tyson felt somewhat uneasy. It could have been how he felt about Miguel not wanting to save the rest of the Barthez Battalion, or it could have been the fact that neither he or his friends had visited Russia in quite a while.

Tyson's main worry, though, was how Kai would feel about it. Tyson kept his eyes glued to the outside of the window, trying his best not to think negatively about the whole situation.

"Hey, are you okay Tyson?" asked Kenny who sat next to him.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just that we haven't been here in a while," Tyson said, trying to cover up the real reason that he was a bit down.

"Well, we're almost there now, so things should be fine," Kenny replied, hoping that his words would cheer his friend up.

"Um, we have a slight bit of turbulence going on. It should be fine though. It's nothing we can't handle," said the pilot over the intercom.

"Wow, I wonder what's up?" Ray asked aloud as he looked out the window. All he saw was cold, wind, and snow. He was surprised it didn't burst through the window with the way it was pelting the helicopter.

"That is some very strong wind," Kenny stated somewhat glibly.

"Hey, that's not fair. Tyson hasn't eaten all day," Max said with a smirk, earning a smile from Tyson, and earning a laugh from most of the others. Max then looked out the same window Ray did, gasping as he saw the wind.

"I can almost taste it," Max said.

"I know the feeling," Ray said, narrowing his eyes a little bit before he noticed something small spin upwards in front of the window.

"What was that?" Max asked, as he had noticed it too.

"I have no clue. But it didn't feel good," Ray replied.

"Um, we're going to have to have an early landing. The turbulence that this blizzard is causing is too much, said the pilot over the intercom. Not longer after saying that, Ray and Max sat back in their seats and they, along with everyone else, put on their seat belts on the way down. Before the helicopter hit the floor, Mr. Dickenson appeared from the cockpit of the helicopter.

"What's up, Mr. D?" Kenny asked.

"I'm just here to make sure you have your coats with you. It's really cold out there," he replied.

"We'll be fine," Max said as the helicopter finally found solid ground. Daichi opened the doors of the helicopter, attempting to step out before feeling Hilary tug at his arm.

"What are you doing, Daichi?" Hilary asked with an air of authority.

"Stepping outside. It can't be that bad," Daichi answered, shrugging Hilary off his arm.

"Be careful. The way this snow is blowing, we don't know what's out there!" Tyson warned.

"If I was careful, I wouldn't be me," Daichi replied, turning around to smile at Tyson. He then jumped out of the helicopter.

"How does it look out there?" Ray asked.

"What?" Daichi asked, the heavy snow muffling the former White Tiger's voice.

"I said, how does it look out there?" Ray yelled.

"It's fine. It's just really heavy snow!" Daichi yelled back.

"Remember to be careful!" Tyson yelled.

"Tyson, what did I tell you earlier? If I wasn't careful, I wouldn't-" then his words cut off.

"Daichi, you there? Daichi?!" Tyson yelled with worry.

"I guess we better go look for him," Max said, exasperated.

"Knowing his luck, he probably got buried under the snow," Ray added with a chuckle. Both he and Max hopped of the chopper.

"Let us know as soon as you see or hear anything, got it?" Tyson yelled.

"Yeah, will do pal," Max replied. Hilary then turned to her boyfriend.

"What?" Tyson asked as Hilary looked at him.

"What's with you?" Hilary asked back.

"It's just... this whole Miguel thing has really pissed me off, and I want to make sure everyone else is fine," Tyson replied.

"You'll get over it soon," Kai said.

"How do you know?" Tyson asked defiantly.

"Because I've seen how you handle things like this. You aren't one to sit around with your thumb up your ass, and right now, we all need you to be that guy again," Kai answered.

"Fine. I'll try and be that guy again," Tyson replied, finally simmering down.

"Good. Glad that's settled," Kenny said from his seat. As soon as he finished his sentence, Ray and Max returned to the chopper.

"Hey guys. What's up?" Hilary asked as she saw the two breathing exasperated, tired breaths.

"We found out what that thing sailing upwards to the helicopter was," Max said.

"What was it?" Kenny asked, standing up.

"It was a beyblade. Someone tried to sabotage us, and Daichi's in a fight with them now," Max answered.

Everyone jumped out of their seats, Mr. Dickenson included, and followed Max and Ray out to where Daichi was faced up against a hooded figure, both of their beyblades spinning around and grinding against each other.

"Who is that?" Hilary asked, referring to the hooded figure as they and Daichi continued battling.

"Who cares? Come on Daichi. Kick his punk ass!" Tyson cheered.

"So, who are you and what do you want, bub?" the red-haired blader asked the hooded figure.

"Why should I tell you anything?" the figure retorted, revealing that the voice was male. As he finished the sentence, his blade collided hard with Daichi's sending it back into Daichi's hand.

"Okay, fine, you beat me. Now, tell us who you are!" Daichi demanded. The figure simply ignored him, instead commanding his beyblade to spin in circles on the ice around Daichi's feet.

"What are you doing?" Daichi asked as the blade span around him, picking up speed and cutting into the ice.

"Hey! JUMP OUT THE WAY!" Ray yelled to the red-haired blader.

"Wha- AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

It was too late. Daichi had fallen into the water, and as everyone yelled his name, the hooded figure disappeared without a trace. Trying to keep themselves from being distracted was difficult, but Kai shoved past them, ready to dive into the water after Daichi.

"K-Kai! What are you doing?" Hilary asked.

"Just shut up and get to land!" Kai replied before removing his scarf and tossing it to Max, who caught it easily. Kai then dived into the water, searching everywhere for his younger friend.

'Come on Daichi... I know you're here somewhere,' Kai thought to himself. He then spotted his friend's sinking form and swam over to him as fast as he could, but it proved difficult due to the heavy current and sub-zero temperature of the water.

He finally reached his friend, smiling as he picked Daichi up in his arms, swimming back up to shore. But all the energy he was using was quickly slowing his pace, and he felt his oxygen getting lower. He swam further up before his eyes started growing really heavy and he slowly fell back down.

'Daichi... I'm sorry...' Kai thought as he sank. He then felt an arm on his own, and he vaguely remembers seeing the land again before nodding off to sleep.

**Several hours later...**

Kai had finally awoken, and while he was happy to still be alive, he still felt the odd shiver course through his body. He looked down to see he was in a hospital bed, blankets covering his entire body, and his clothes were folded neatly in a corner. He made a move to get out of the bed, which made a loud noise, causing the person sleeping on the chair nearby to wake up.

"Huh... What the... Kai! You're awake!" said Max from the chair.

"Yeah, surprisingly," Kai replied, turning his head to see Daichi on the bed adjacent to his, before continuing. "What the hell happened?"

"You almost got stuck in the water. Luckily, an old friend stopped by to help you before you went out cold, no pun intended," Max answered.

"Good to see you, Kai," said a voice from the doorway. It was Kai's old Blitzkrieg Boys teammate and longtime friend, Tala.

"Tala, what are you doing here?" Kai asked.

"Well, I wanted to check up on you, considering I'm the guy who saved your ass," Tala replied with a smirk.

"Where are everyone else?" Kai asked.

"Spencer and Bryan are busy training. As for Ian, I haven't seen him all day," Tala answered. He then got a call on his phone, before he held his finger up. "Excuse me, I gotta take this."

"So, how are you feeling, Kai?" Max asked as soon as Tala left the room.

"Better. Hey, where am I?" the blue-haired blader asked.

"We're at the Blitzkrieg Boys' base. They managed to get it safely set up when we took care of Boris back at the BEGA tournament," Max answered. After he finished talking, Tala came back in with Spencer in tow, both of them looking a bit befuddled.

"What's wrong, Tala?" Max asked.

"There was some guy whose voice I didn't recognize on the phone. He was talking about Ian. Something bad has happened to him," Tala replied.

"What? What is it?" Max asked, standing up out of his seat.

"No one's seen him since he went out this morning," Spencer answered.

"What did he go out for?" Kai asked.

"He just went to pick up a new recruit we had coming in today. No one's seen either of them since he left," Tala replied.

"Wait, new recruit? Who is it?" Max asked.

"It's best to just show you while we have our computers working again. Damn snowstorm has been cutting us off all day," Spencer answered.

"You guys go on without me. I'll stay behind and take care of Daichi," Max said. Tala gave Max a thumbs up before he and Spencer led Kai through the building, and they all found a large computer room where they also found Mr. Dickenson, Hilary, and Kenny.

"Kai! It's good to see you on your feet again," exclaimed Me. Dickenson.

"Thank you. Where are Tyson and Ray?" replied Kai.

"Ray is preparing food, and Tyson is busy playing with his toys, as usual," Hilary answered, giving Kai a brief chuckle.

"I hate to interrupt you guys, but you need to look at this," Tala said, breaking everyone away from their conversation. Mr. Dickenson, Hilary, and Kai all looked at the huge array of monitors on the grey stone wall.

They saw the familiar form of Ian walking out of the base, waving to Tala, Bryan, and Spencer as he headed off.

"This is about the time he left to pick up the new recruit," Bryan explained. The footage continued. Ian kept walking off into the distance before he reached a snowmobile, hopping into it to drive off. Then, the footage paused.

"That was the last we saw of him. He took the snowmobile because the recruit was at the airport, which is really far away from our base. Nobody's seen him since," Bryan continued.

"Well, do you have any information on the recruit?" Max asked.

"Nothing at all. But we needed some fresh blood, what with the new tournament coming up and all," Tala answered.

"I almost forgot about the tournament! Where does it start?" Kenny asked worriedly.

"It starts in Japan," replied Mr. Dickenson.

"If it starts in Japan, then why did you take us all around the world, Mr. D?" Hilary asked.

"Because when I noticed the other teams were having trouble, I thought they would need all the help they could get. With so many people already taken away, and now with Ian being added to the list of missing people, we need to go back home and practice. Train. If we want to find Boris, we start looking back home," Dickenson replied seriously. Then Tyson came down the stairs, with Ray in tow.

"What'd we miss?" asked Tyson.

"The tournament starts back in Japan. If we want to find Boris, we start there," Kai answered for him.

"Good. At least we have a start-off point now," Tyson replied with a small smile.

"Did anyone find out what happened to Ian?" Ray asked.

"Yeah. He was most likely kidnapped along with all the others," Tala answered.

"Well then, what do we do?" Hilary asked.

"We go home and we get ready," Tyson answered.

"I hope to see you guys at the tournament," Tala said.

"You too," replied Kai, walking over to Tala, shaking hands with him.

* * *

**This chapter was originally going to go a different route, but I changed it up to make it more dramatic for you awesome people. Thanks to all of you who have been reading. 1,000 views! Woohoo! And don't worry; they'll get to the tournament in the next chapter. Until then dudes!**


	9. Remember Who You Are

Tyson tossed and turned in his bed, finally glad to be home again. He missed it all: The familiar sight and feel of the dojo, getting to sleep in his bedroom again, being curled up to Hilary, hanging out with his friends... It was a life he never thought he's go back to. But he's glad it came back for him.

He was having a good rest until he heard the familiar sound of a beyblade whirring around. He went to the room opposite his own, being careful not to wake Hilary, and he went to check on his friends. He did a good headcount: Daichi was asleep, Ray was asleep, Max was asleep, Kenny was asleep, and Mr. Dickenson was busy helping set the tournament up so he was staying at a nearby hotel.

But there was one figure Tyson didn't see sleeping. So, he headed outside to see Kai sat down, legs crossed, eyes closed, head down, and completely focused.

"Kai, put your beyblade away. You need your..." Tyson was cut off as he saw Kai's beyblade, Dranzer, spin around the back of Kai's neck and dance along his right shoulder, before going down to his arm and finally reaching the palm of his hand, still spinning all the while.

"Rest," Tyson finished, unable to take his eyes off the remarkable display of focus that Kai was showing. The blue-haired blader then opened his eyes and turned his head to face Tyson. As soon as the champion started to head back to go to bed, Kai called his name.

"Yeah? What is it?" Tyson asked.

"I can teach you if you'd like," Kai replied, Dranzer still spinning in his hand. Tyson took note that the blade was starting to generate heat, in no small thanks to it's bit-beast.

"Come on, you know I don't have the focus to do this," Tyson replied, unsure of whether or not he could learn from his friend.

"You won't know unless you try," Kai replied. Tyson sighed and sat down next to Kai. Luckily, he had his blading gear in one of his pockets, just in case. He then launched his Dragoon beyblade as silently as he could without waking the others up.

"So, what's the plan? Do I just let Dragoon onto me?" Tyson asked.

"It's not that simple. You need to find every bad thought, every evil emotion, and try to force it out," Kai answered.

"No offense, but isn't that a bit of a hard task for someone like you?" Tyson suggested.

"Not really," Kai replied.

"Why?"

"Because I learned it from you," Kai finished.

"Kai, you're the oldest member of the team, and you've been blading more than I have. How is it possible that I could teach you anything?" Tyson asked.

"Because any blader knows to learn from the best - and on our team, you're that guy. You're the one we can turn to to get our heads outta the clouds and keep us in check if we get too ahead of ourselves," Kai answered.

"Hey, I used to be in over my head a lot too. Remember when we won that tournament against the Blitzkrieg Boys? Or back then, they were the Demolition Boys. Anyway, my point is, I acted like such a dick after that tournament was over," Tyson commented.

"I did notice, but I overlooked it. To me, it showed that you were proud of what you'd accomplished. You just let it get to your head. Trust me, it happens to the best of us," Kai replied.

"Thank God that Hilary has kept me in line all this time," Tyson said with a smirk.

"Yeah. So, should we get started?" Kai said.

"I'm ready when you are," Tyson replied.

"Well, the first thing you do is will your Dragoon over to you."

Tyson did as he was told before Kai continued. "Then, you place your hand down on the ground and let your beyblade hop on. The rest is all about the focus and concentration."

Tyson placed his left hand down on his knuckles on the floor, spreading his fingers. Dragoon did a little jump and hopped on to Tyson's hand, spinning in place for a bit before continuing it's ascent up his arm. Tyson struggled to keep his cool, but then looked over to Kai and noticed that he was totally focused and undeterred by his Dranzer beyblade spinning around on him.

"Don't follow my example," Kai said, shaking Tyson from his daze. "Focus. Feel."

"I-I'm trying," Tyson said with a struggle.

"It took me a while to get it, too. But the best things always take time," Kai replied.

Tyson simply gritted his teeth, trying harder to keep himself in control. Kai noticed this and raised an eyebrow before letting out a small chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Tyson asked through his teeth.

"After all these years, you're still the same. Just as impatient, just as brash, just as I remember you," Kai replied. As he finished, Dragoon spun away from Tyson's arm and landed sideways on the floor. Kai called his beyblade to his hand before placing it in his pocket.

"Damn, that hurt," Tyson sad as he stood up and rubbed his arm. He leaned down to pick up his beyblade and saw Kai stand up.

"You really are just the same as you were when we last met. But you're more confident now, Tyson. That's a good thing. Keep hold of that," Kai said before walking away. Tyson watched Kai as he walked and noticed a multitude of scars on Kai's wrist.

"What happened to your wrist, Kai?" Tyson asked.

"Like I said, it took me a while to get it," Kai answered as he continued walking back into the dojo. Tyson stood and followed suit before adjourning to his bedroom and curling up with Hilary again.

**The next morning...**

Tyson woke up with a yawn, and turned to see Hilary was no longer in bed.

"Hilary?" the champion called out, hoping to get a response from his girlfriend.

"I'm in the shower, Tyson!" Hilary replied. Tyson got a devious smirk. He went to the opposing room besides his own, and saw that everybody else was fast asleep. He then sneaked back into his room, removing his clothes as he headed to the bathroom, opening the door and earning a yelp from Hilary.

"Who's there?!" Hilary yelled.

"It's me. Calm down," Tyson replied.

"Oh, good," Hilary responded. She moved the shower curtain across to see Tyson stood there with no clothes. Grinning widely, she offered her hand to him. Tyson took it, and she pulled him into the shower, kissing him as they let the water wash over them.

**Elsewhere, at the hotel Mr. Dickenson stayed in for the night..**.

The Beyblading chairman hopped into an elevator, his cane in one hand and briefcase in the other, and smiled as he went down, finally glad to have gotten some sleep. But he was also smiling because another tournament was around the corner, and after a long break from it, he felt good to do it again. He enjoyed helping people around him, even if he didn't know them or hadn't even met them.

After the elevator doors opened again, he stepped out and tipped his hat towards a few passersby. He arrived at the front desk, giving the man behind the counter a gentle smile.

"Did you enjoy your stay, sir?" asked the male.

"I certainly did. It was the best sleep I've had in a long time," the chairman replied before taking his leave. There was a taxi waiting for him, and he entered said taxi, telling it to go to Ryu's Dojo.

He stepped out of the taxi as soon as he arrived at the dojo, paying the driver and giving him a nice tip to boot before gazing at the familiarity of the dojo. He had to admit, Tyson had done his best to keep it up and running since Ryu had passed away. He was glad to see it didn't go to waste. He turned to see a familiar sight and spotted Kai, Daichi, Ray, and Max training together, with Kenny sitting on a nearby bench, Dizzi resting on his lap as he gave the rest of the team advice and assistance.

"Hello there, boys!" he said with a wave as he walked over to them.

"Mr. D! What's up?" Ray asked as the chairman walked towards them.

"Well, the tournament starts in half an hour and I wanted to check that you were all okay," replied Mr. Dickenson.

"Yeah, we're fine," Max replied.

"All our stuff is packed and ready; we were just waiting on you," Kenny added.

"Well, it's not just him," Max pointed out.

"Oh yeah! I wonder where Tyson and Hilary are?" Kenny thought out loud.

"It's not so much where they are as what they're up to," Ray said slyly. Kenny blushed a bit and gave a nod.

"So, how's the progress looking, Kenny?" Daichi asked, trying to move the conversation elsewhere.

"Um, not bad at all. Your beyblades are still in great condition, nothing wrong with any of the parts, and your blading skills seem just fine," Kenny replied.

"So, no problems?" Ray asked.

"Not that I can see. I've had Dizzi run every diagnostic possible on your skills, blades, launchers, everything, and it's all in tip-top shape," Kenny responded with a smile.

"Yep. It appears you still remember which way to yank the chord out!" Dizzi added sarcastically. After a brief chuckle, Mr. Dickenson took a look around.

"Where on Earth are Tyson and Hilary?" he asked.

"I don't know. They both slept in Tyson's room last night. We all got the guest room," Max answered.

"And how long have you all been awake?" Dickenson asked.

"I dunno. Maybe an hour? An hour and a half at the most," Ray answered.

"Wow. Go Tyson," Max said with a wide smirk.

"Huh. Speak of the devil," Daichi said, turning to see a door opening. He called his beyblade back to his hand, as did the others with theirs, and smiles seeing Tyson and Hilary walk over to them, the couple holding hands.

"Hey guys!" Hilary said with a smile.

"What kept you guys so long?" Daichi asked, almost completely oblivious to their earlier activities.

"We wanted to sleep in a bit," Tyson said with a smirk.

"Well, I hope you two are well rested. We have a tournament to get to!" Mr. Dickenson told them. Tyson simply nodded. Kai, Ray, Max and Daichi all called their beyblades back before returning them to their pockets.

"We're not using a helicopter again, are we?" Kenny asked with a smirk as he closed his laptop back up.

Dickenson chuckled before replying, "No. We're taking a taxi this time. The tournament isn't that far away."

"That's good to know. The whole flying around thing was starting to make me feel a little sick," Tyson joked. They all got inside the taxi, and drove off, waiting to see what challenges would face them next, and wondering what Boris would have in store for them.

* * *

**I know I promised the that the would get to the tournament, but I dunno which teams should be first up! So leave me a review or PM me who you wanna see in the bey-dish first. Until next time dudes.**


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